I vote yes, just because I think he probably believes that the Court is a bit skewed at 8-1. I'm not saying perfect balance is an absolute requirement or anything, but at least one more woman would be nice, and I think the President probably feels the same way.

"Today, as President Obama moves to pick his first Supreme Court nominee as a successor to retiring Justice David H. Souter ó a choice many political observers expect will be a woman ó he finds a vastly altered scene, with women holding dozens of seats on the nationís appellate courts, occupying deanís offices at prestigious law schools, and serving in some of the highest political offices in the nation."

I would hope he picks the person most qualified to interpret law, independent of demographics.

Considering that "most qualified" is pretty hard to define, and there are numerous candidates out there who are more than up to the job, it's not crazy to take demographics into account. Part of being the "most qualified" person, IMO, is bringing some perspective that the current court may be lacking. Life experience, intelligence, and ability to interpret the law are not so easily divided into separate compartments.

Logged

Quote from: Earthbound SNES

Get a sense of humor, Susan B. Anthony!

Quote from: dashrashi

I'm going to cut a female dog. With a knife with a brown handle, natch.

Part of me hopes he picks Kim McLane Wardlaw to bring some West Coast flavor to SCOTUS.

The other part of me hopes he doesn't because I really wanted to attempt to clerk for her in California when the time came This is, of course, rather stupid and selfish. But it's the only negative I can think of